Scion of the ace film maker,
Adeyemi Afolayan, (Ade Love)
Kunle Afolayan is now the focus
in Nollywood today. This
international director, actor and
producer whose second feature
film, ‘Figurine cliched five
awards at this year’s African
Movie Academy Awards.
Afolayan believed that his
landslide victory was as a result
of his commitment to setting a
standard for African film
makers. In this concluding part
of our interview, Afolayan sets
an agenda for film makers in
Nigeria and Africa at large.
Benjamin NJOKU
As actor, producer and director,
where does your strength lie?
Among the three, one cannot be
said to be a master of all. The
fact that I studied Business
Administration and had worked
as a banker for several years
gave me the opportunity to
master the business aspect of
film making. Producing films is
very challenging.
As a producer, you are in charge
of the expenses, coordination
and administration. I have been
able to master all these tricks
because of the experiences I
acquired while working in the
banking sector as an
administrative and corporate
affair ’s officer.
And as a director, I attended a
film school abroad, where I was
able to acquire some of the
basics or ethics of film making.
And as an actor, I started way
back as a child.
Let’s just say, acting flows in the
blood. But in future, I’d stop
producing. When you are
producing, you are really
distracted because apart from
being on set, you are also meant
to shoulder other two key roles.
So, it ’s better you allow
someone else to handle that
aspect of production. But for
acting and directing, I want to
be a master of the two.
What does your late dad got to
do with your achievements?
A lot, because I guess I have
been influenced directly or
indirectly while growing up as a
child.
I developed a passion for film
making after my dad died, and
not when he was alive. While
dad lived, I wasn ’t even
interested in film making
because he wouldn ’t encourage
us to be part of that.
After his death, I developed a
strong interest in film making
and as a result, I had to go back
to school to study the rudiments
of film making.
I’m not the only son of Adeyemi
Afolayan that is into acting. My
three brothers are also into
acting. I think my works speak
for me because of what I have
been able to learn while
growing up.
What I learnt in the film school,
coupled with the experience I
have acquired over the years,
gave me that edge over every
other film maker in Nigeria and
Africa at large. But we can ’t rule
out the fact that being a son of
Adeyemi Afolayan played a vital
role in what I am today.
Figurine dwarfed other African
films. Why?
Figurine is my second feature
film. When I did “Irapada” it was
also an award winning movie. It
won the Best Indigenous movie
award at the 2007 AMAA. For
me, Figurine is a product of an
experiment.
I wanted to see what value I
could add to film making that
would give Nigerian film makers
an edge over other film makers
across Africa. After producing
“ Irapada,” I learnt a lot of
lessons. I tried to improve on a
whole lot of things, which I
didn ’t pay attention to, when I
was shooting “Irapada.” I didn’t
totally achieve what I wanted in
Figurine.
And it may have been better
than what it is today, because
of hitches and challenges here
and there. Thank God the film is
still a success.
Figurine would have been more
successful if those hitches were
not there. The film was
purposely produced in that class
to prove to my colleagues and
the entire African film makers
that if we take our time and add
a few things here and there to
our productions, we would be
able to stand side by side with
any film makers from Hollywood
or Bollywood.
How did you achieve Figurine?
Getting the scripts of Figurine
ready took us about three to
four months while the shooting
proper took three months. Post-
production took about four
months and pre-production
equally took about three
months. In all, it took more than
a year.
Compared to an average
Nollywood film, the budget was
quite huge. It cost more than
N50million. But that does not
mean that one cannot do a film
with a lower budget and still
achieve the same kind of
standard.
The budget was higher because
the set was also very huge.
I assembled a huge cast and
crew. And we moved from one
location to another location,
which really gulped a lot of
money, and the logistic
problems ….
Since the film hit foreign
cinemas, have you recouped
your fund?
We have recouped more than
half of the budget of the N50m.
The film is not yet released on
DVD. We are still in the cinemas
and private screening. We are
waiting for the right platform
to release the film on DVD. We
are looking for a platform
where we can sell more than a
million copies. Once that is in
place, I can assure you we will
not hesitate to release the film
on DVD. Figurine has got good
production values, pictures
quality that make it appeal to
international audience.
Still, you didn’t win the best
director awards?
I was surprised but what can
one do when the jury has their
own parameter? I don ’t know
what their reasons were but I
think it ’s because we have so
many other African countries
involved.
They wanted to ensure that the
awards went round. I don ’t
know why the film that won
the best cinematography, best
picture and best visual effect;
(these are the key categories in
film making)didn ’t win the best
director award. But I’m still glad
that we won at AMAA.
Why did you say Figurine is a
break from tradition?
Figurine has got good
production values. To me, it’s the
most important thing in any
production. What an
international audience looks out
for in any film is the production
value of that film, which are
picture and sound. Once they
see your film for 10 minutes,
they will be able to tell whether
the film would be interesting or
not. I don ’t want to be seen as a
local champion.
I want to keep doing something
that will not only appeal to
Nigerians and Africans in
general but also to the
international audience.
Lancelot Imasuen and yourself
aspire for the global stage. How
has it been so far?
Internationally, we are doing
very well. Figurine is currently
touring major film festivals
across the world. Come next
month, I will be travelling to
Canada, Korea and Tokyo to
attend film festivals. Figurine is
the only Nigerian film that will
be touring international
festivals in recent times. It ’s
good for us, because of the
exposure. It would also provide
us the opportunity to sign on
such international distributors
for our films.
That’s why I say to my
colleagues, if they dare put in
efforts into what they are
doing, their films will definitely
stand a better chance of getting
international exposure. This is
the beginning of a better thing
to come to Nollywood. Right
now, I ’ll soon begin work on
something bigger.
Internationally, where is
Nollywood weak?
Well, Nollywood is highly
accepted in blacks communities
in Europe and America. But
having said that, our films are
hardly shown in the theatre
outside the shores of the
country. At home, how many of
our films are released in the
cinemas?
Internationally, there are
structures in place. A film must
be made to go round the normal
distribution circle, which is from
the theatre to the preview and
then onto DVD. But here in
Nigeria, we intend to release
straight on DVD, which limits
what the investor gets in return.
Yes, Nigerian films are doing
well internationally. But the
producers are not gaining as
much as they ought to, because
of piracy.
Do you advertise in your
movies?
My films speak volumes in the
area of advert placement. I do a
lot of product placement in my
films, meaning that to complete
my production, I ensure that I
involve multinational companies
in my films. I sell the idea to
them and they in return pay for
it.
That way, one can subsidise
one ’s budget and it’s a common
practice all over the world. I did
that in “Irapada,” where I got
Dangote, MTN and other
corporate bodies involved. Also,
in Figurine, I got NICON Hotels
and Resort, Unilever and some
banks to place adverts. This is
the way to go for Nollywood
producers. That way, they can
subsidise their budgets, no
matter how huge the budget is.
So, how do you create time for
your family?
I’m sure one of the reasons my
wife married me was because
she realised I have got some
potentials. My wife realised that
I ’m always working and in the
future, I would be able to put
food on the table for her.
But I always try to balance it by
creating time for both my
family and my work. I try as
much as possible not to allow
my work to affect my
relationship with my family.
Are you satisfied with today’s
Nollywood?
Yes, because an average
Nigerian man have got the zeal
to make things happen. This, in a
way has helped the industry to
grow. I believe that come next
year, most of the films you will
be seeing in AMAA from the
stable of Nigerian film makers
will be great and better movies.
A lot of film makers are now
challenged to do better movies.
Somebody needs to kick-start
the revolution and every other
film makers will follow suit.
And, if we continue in that
spirit, Nollywood would have no
choice at some point to step
aside for us to thrive. What we
need now is to learn to master
the technical quality. Already,
we have got great stories, we
need to engage a few more
trained directors who really
understand how films should be
made. Believe me, sincerely, if all
these things are put in place, the
industry will be recognised
positively in the internationally.
On set, do you foresee the
quality you refer to?
Of course, the kind of persons
you are working with,
sometimes determine your
character or attitude on set. I
work with a couple of these
actors and actresses. I make
them work as well as I try to
take good care of them while on
set.
How true is it that producers
and marketers take undue
advantage of female actresses
for roles.
I think it’s the other way round
because most of these actresses
will do anything to be famous. A
lot of them will offer to sleep
with the producers or marketers
to get roles. Worse still, most of
them are not trained actresses
but the fact remains that they
want to be popular at all cost. I
think it ’s something that
happens all over the world, not
only in the film industry but
also. I see it as an individual
thing.
If you are a director or a
producer who allows himself to
fall for such cheap temptation,
so be it. But mostly, it is the
fault of these ladies who would
do anything to entice or seduce
them in order to secure a role in
their films.
Have you experienced such
temptation before?
I’m a professional to the core. I
can’t be tempted with such
cheap enticement.
What’s the way forward?
Shun tribal sentiments. We
wouldn ’t move forward as long
as we continue to allow
language differences to serve as
a deterrent to partnering
together. Nigeria is such a
complex country. And I believe
that if all of us come together
and leave our language barriers,
we will definitely make the
difference. In the first place ,
film does not have a language.
This issue of Kaniwood, Yoruba
film industry and the Igbo
movies should not undermining
the growth of our movie sector.
We must partner together and
do good movies. Then, the sky
will be our limit.
How did Figurine come about?
The story of Figurine was a
collective effort of myself, Joe
Obi and Ken Adesoye. There are
a lot of Nigerians there who are
superstitious and who try to
give a lot of names to the gods.
I felt it’s unfair of them because
most often, we have our own
predicaments. In that sense, we
tried to put all that together.
That was how we came up with
the story of Figurine.
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